


You And I

by drivingmishcrazy



Category: Cinders (Visual Novel)
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Ficlet, One Shot Collection, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-09
Updated: 2015-03-18
Packaged: 2018-03-17 02:37:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3512072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drivingmishcrazy/pseuds/drivingmishcrazy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of Cinders/Perrault one shots.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Defined

**Author's Note:**

> A/N - Hell's bells, it's been a long time since I've done this, so forgive me if I'm rusty. I'm a bit late to the fandom, but these two...they give me ideas. Constructive criticism is welcome, hopefully this can turn into something cool.

 A storm was brewing, Cinders could tell. She and Perrault had been at this for almost a year now, traveling here and there, stopping when they needed to, leaving when they felt like it, no stepmothers or royal duties to stop them from doing whatever they pleased. It was a good arrangement, and life was never boring. It didn't hurt that Perrault had long since given up on trying to be a gentleman and insisting they sleep in separate beds, and Cinders had a talent for finding creative uses for all of those belts of his. Life with Perrault wasn't easy, but it was fun, and he was as much her best friend as he was her partner in all of their exploits. Today was different, though, there were dark clouds in the former Captains eyes, they had been there since early that morning, and as they both sat down to dine that night, Cinders decided she was done giving Perrault his space. If he wasn't going to tell her himself, then she was forced to just come out with it and ask him. Cinders took a long swig of ale to prepare herself.

"How's the food?" Cinders asked, testing the waters.

"Fine." Perrault grunted in reply, not looking up.

"Well, anything is better than the fare at the last inn we stayed at." she tried again. "I still think that shepherd's pie had actual shephard in it."

"Hm." was the only reply. Enough is enough. Cinders thought, taking another long drink. She could feel anger rising up inside of her, and thought of spitting a firey response at her friend and lover, but then a twinge of uncertainty came over her. Was it something that I did? she asked herself, trying to wrack her brain for anything she could've done that might have rubbed Perrault the wrong way. They bickered, but rarely fought in earnest, and Cinders couldn't recall anything that had happened recently that would cause him to act like this. One more mouthful of ale and she felt brave enough to breach the subject.

"Perrault..." Cinders spoke clearly, yet she sounded to her own mind uncertain. "What's wrong?"

Perrault's head snapped up and for the first time all day, he was looking directly at her, his expression changing from angry to confused. Cinders could tell she had caught him off-guard, and wasn't that a laugh? "What?" he asked. "What do you mean?"

"You know..." she faltered, averting his gaze and playing with her hair. "It just seems like something's been bothering you all day. You've been quiet, even more than normal, and you just have this look on your face that says 'stay away from me'. I tried to just keep my distance and figured it would pass or you'd tell me what was up, but there's not a whole lot of time left in the day, so come on, Perrault, what's going on?"

"Oh." Perrault replied, frowning. "It's nothing, Cinders. It's stupid, really. Not worth worrying about."

Cinders felt the heat rising in her cheeks. "Seriously, Perrault?" she said, her voice rising slightly. "You're going to shut me out now? After all we've been through, you're just going to push me away like it's no big deal. Has the last year meant nothing to you?"

"Cinders, how can you ask me that?" He growled. "And do we really have to discuss this here? Where just anyone could eavesdrop?"

"Well, I don't know, Perrault." She answered back. "Maybe I should be asking you, because all day, you've acted like you'd rather be anywhere else but here. Did I do something? Or are you just sick of me?"

"Damn it, woman." Perrault sighed, running a hand across his face. "You never could make things easy, could you? No, Cinders, no, you didn't do anything wrong, and no, I'm not sick of you. Quite the opposite, actually."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Cinders frowned, confused. "I don't understand, why the stormy expression, then? Why the bad mood?"

"I really...wanted to wait until we could talk about this somewhere private." He shook his head and gave a shy half-smile. "But you've forced my hand, and I can tell by the way you're looking at me and the fire in your eyes that there's no way you're going to back down now. Okay, Cinders, I need you to listen and just let me talk, okay?"

"This had better be good." Cinders grumbled with her arms folded. "I'm all ears."

"Alright." Perrault took a deep breath. "Something has been bothering me for a while now, and I wasn't sure how to try and approach you with it. I've been trying to work out what I wanted to say all day, and well, you know me, I'm no poet..."

Cinders blinked. Perrault hesitated for a moment, then reached across the table to take hold of her hands. "I was frustrated, with myself." He continued. "Not angry. Not at you, though you _do_ have an impeccable talent for driving me absolutely insane, no, this was all me. I just...last year, we both agreed, we weren't sure about the future, we couldn't make any promises. And it's been a great year, crazy, but beyond what I ever could have imagined. But it has been a year, almost a full year, and I just have a lot of questions." "Questions?"

Cinders blurted out before she could stop herself. "Sorry. What kind of questions?" "I just want to know..." Perrault replied, slowly, deliberately, running his thumb over the knuckles of one her hands. "What is this? What are we? Who am I to you? Are we friends? Are we lovers? Because, I know how I think of you...no, how I _feel_ about you, but I want to know, I need to know, if you feel it too. I need to know what you want."

Cinder's expression had softened the more he spoke, and now, it felt as though her heart was hammering its way out of her ribs. This man, this wonderful, beautiful man, with his scarred face and calloused hands, this man who could make her tear hair out or make her feel like they were the only two people in the world, was looking at her with pleading eyes, begging her not to dash all of his hopes in one fell swoop. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen Perrault this vulnerable, they talked about many things, but feelings were pretty low on the list. She returned his gaze cautiously, trying to choose the right words. "You want to know...how I feel?" She choked a bit on the last word.

"Yes." He replied, his expression had returned to that of a man determined to learn what he needed to know, but his face was pale. "Please."

"Well, for starters," Cinders began. "Tonight, I felt afraid, terrified that you were going to tell me you had had enough, that you were going to find other arrangements and we would go our seperate ways. I was upset, and angry, and hurt, when I thought that was what you were going to say."

"And now?" Perrault asked.

"You asked me what I want." She replied. "Who you are to me. I'll tell you what I want, I want to wake up next to you every morning and lay down next to you every single night, whether we get much sleep or not." She was looking at her hands, still clasped in his, and heard him chuckle at her last remark. "I want you to stay, and never go." Cinders continued. "I want us to drink and argue and fall into bed, naked and a little drunk and laughing about whatever it was we were arguing about. I want you to kiss me in public and tell me I still look pretty after a day of being waste deep in mud and waste. I want you to be my best friend and my lover, and most of all, I want you to want all of this too."

"You really mean that?" Perrault asked, looking hopeful, but still wary. "Wait, I'm not finished." Cinders smiled and kissed the back of his hand. "You asked me who you are to me, and how I feel, as well as what I want, and I intend to answer you."

"By all means." He replied. "You are everything I never thought I was allowed to want." She continued. "You are the one person I trust more than anyone else in this world, and you are the only one I want to take this adventure with. If I live to an old age, I want it to be by your side. I guess if I wanted to combine the answer to what I want and who you are to me, I could have just said that you are who I want."

Cinders paused to catch her breath, face flushed, heart beating rapidly. She looked at Perrault across the table, he was still gazing intently at her. "So if you have any doubts about how I feel about you now," Cinders finished rapidly. "I don't know what to tell you, because I just poured my heart out to you, and if you need to hear the words proper, I'll say them, but I swear Perrault, if you're jerking my chain, I will kill you right here with your own sword."

Perrault laughed. An honest to goodness laugh. "You brilliant, beautiful, crazy woman." He said, shaking his head. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear all of that. Or how happy it makes me to hear you say it. You know, if you told me a year ago that I would be sitting in this pub with you, having this conversation, I don't know if I would have believed it."

"So, you really mean it?" Cinders eyes were bright. "You really feel the same way?"

"More than you can imagine." Perrault replied, suddenly shy again. "Every night, ever since we started sharing a bed, I've fallen asleep wanting to wrap my arms around you and never let go. The first time we...well, the first time we were together, I was actually nervous, and I don't get nervous easily. I never thought farther ahead than a few days before I met you, and now, I can't stop thinking about the future. Not for anything."

"You think about the future." She said. "A future with me in it. Our future." "Yes, our future." He smiled, getting up and crossing over to where she was. "Now, that's enough questions for now. Come here." Perrault grabbed Cinders by the hand, bringing her to her feet and pulling her close, captured her mouth with his.

Cinders gasped slightly at the feel of his lips against hers, not because she had never kissed Perrault before, but it had always been private, behind closed doors. Not secret, necessarily, but something just between them, never in front of other people, or in a crowded pub for the entire world to see. She almost couldn't believe it was real, and yet...it just felt so right! And wasn't that half of the battle in starting a relationship off on the right foot, anyway? Knowing when it was right. She eased into the kiss, returning it as fully as he had initiated. Perraults tongue flicked against her lips, gentle, a question, she answered by opening her mouth, welcoming his tongue with her own. He tasted of stout lager, much heavier than her amber ale, but not an unpleasant taste. When they finally broke away, breathless, Perrault touched his forehead to hers, a hand still placed on the side of her face. They had no awareness of there being anyone else in the room with them, at least, not until the pub burst into cheers.

"Yeah!" A ruddy faced man with a bald spot called from the corner. "Tha's righ' mate! Tha's 'ow you get your girl!"

"And a fine lass at that!" An exceptionally fat man at the counter added. "Best be plannin' on keepin' the likes of her around, not every day you get a lass that pretty!"

"We all want invitations to the wedding!" Cracked a younger lad with dark curly hair and olive skin.

"A toast!" Roared a man with a big bushy beard and a thick accent. "To true love and high adventure!"

Quite a ruckus broke out as patrons hooted and clanked their tankards together, calling for more beer. Cinders looked around, her face matching her hair. She could see the color had risen in Perrault's cheeks as well and she turned back to him and grinned sheepishly."I can see now why you hesitated to do this in public." She said, her voice low. "So much for not causing a scene."

Perrault chuckled and gave her a light peck on the forehead. "Well, you did say you wanted me to kiss you in public." He noted. "I guess I'll have to get used to the attention, if I'm to go around kissing a beautiful woman at my leisure."

"I'm sure I can find a way to make it worth your while." Cinders raised an eyebrow as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, much more chastely this time.

"Are you nearly finished with your meal, my dear?" Perrault asked, a hint of something in his voice.

"Well, I reckon I'm too keyed up to eat much of anything else right now." She replied, then she furrowed her eyebrows. "Why?"

"Then I suggest we make it back to our room." He answered her in a low voice, almost a growl. "This is a cause for celebration, as the regulars here have duly noted, and I most certainly have a few plans for you."

Cinders felt her face flush and goosebumps formed on her skin. "My, my." She said breathlessly. "You're getting quite brazen already. Lead the way, oh Captain, my Captain." It was the night everything changed for the two adventurers. They spent the night just as passionately as most nights, but now there was something more to it. Meanings no longer had to be guessed at, a kiss was more than just a kiss, where they had been friends and traveling partners with an uncertain future before, there was a new-found understanding and caring. That night, they both got their wish, and they fell asleep wrapped in each others arms, the first of many nights to come.


	2. By Any Other Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Card games, given names, and fluffy goodness.

Another day, another town. Another Saturday night, another seedy tavern. This one wasn't so bad, though, they had both agreed. It was clean, at least, the perfect place to stop a while, have a drink and a bite to eat, and to get on with their tradition in the making. Soon after Cinders and Perrault had set off together, they decided that even globetrotting adventurers needed to blow off some steam every once in a while, and after much debate over whether rough sex counted, they decided upon a weekly game of cards. So here they were, yet again, in the dim light of the tavern, each with a hand, their faces impassive. Somehow, Cinders had managed to get hold of a cigarette, and was puffing on it as if she had been doing it all of her life.

"That's not very ladylike, you know." Perrault noted. "Where did you even get that thing from? Do you know where it's been?"

"In case you haven't noticed, dear Captain," Cinders replied, blowing a smoke ring. "I'm not exactly a lady, at least not anymore. As for where I got it, I learned quite a long time ago that even a lady can get just about anything she wants for the right amount of coin."

"Smells awful, but to each their own." He grumbled in reply. "You certainly seem to know what you're doing, at any rate. Your move."

"Oh believe me, I do." She said gleefully. "Even under Carmosa's watchful eye, I still managed to rebel in my own small ways. Besides, what's the harm? It's not as if it's going to kill me! Your move."

Perrault took his tankard in hand and had a long drink. "That we know of." He said. "Ten silvers, your move."

"I see your ten silvers and raise you five sovereigns." Cinders replied, finishing off her beer and motioning for a second. "Your move."

"Demons! I fold!" Perrault exclaimed. "What have you got?"

Cinders snickered and showed him her hand, then outright laughed at his exasperated expression. "What's the matter, Perrault?" She teased. "Has being bested by a woman tarnished your reputation?"

"Hell take me, Cinders." He shook his head and smiled affectionately. "If I didn't know any better, I would think you to be a card shark."

"Me? A card shark?" Cinders feigned innocence. "Never!"

Perrault chuckled, taking another drink. "Aye, lass, you are indeed something else." He said, then he got a serious look on his face. "May I ask something, without you thinking me rude?"

"Depends on the question." She shrugged. "But go ahead anyway."

"What's your name?" Perrault said, eyes wide and curious, like that of a small child. "Your proper name, I mean. We've known each other for how long, now? And I still call you Cinders."

"Oh, that?" Cinders rolled her eyes. "It's not that great, a mouthful, really. My father wanted to name me after my mother, since she died in childbirth, and all, but he also wanted me to have a name of my own, so he called me Alessandra Juliet Marie. The last name, I think, is obvious."

"I think it's beautiful." He smiled at her with an affectionate look in his eye. "I'll probably still call you Cinders out of habit, but it's nice to know your given name."

"Well thank you." She flushed as she said it. "Your turn, now. What's your full name? Or does the Captain of the Guard not bother with such trifles?"

A burst of honest laughter. "Fair enough." Perrault replied. "No, I have a full name, though nothing quite as fancy as yours. It's James. James Antony Perrault."

"Hmm...James..." Cinders looked at him with a furrowed brow for a moment, then smiled. "You do look like a James, now that I think about it."

"Oh I do, now?" He said with a smirk.

"You do." She replied, touching his face. "Thank you for telling me." "

Thank you for telling me yours." Perrault said, getting a wicked grin on his face. "Now I know what to call you when I'm cross with you."

"Well," Cinders returned with the same wicked grin. "Now I know what name to call out in bed."

"My God!" He choked, going red. "Cinders!"

"What?" She said, trying to suppress her laughter. "I thought you liked hearing me say your name? That's what you told me this morning."

"Alright." Perrault said, regaining his composure. "I think that's enough drink for you, my girl."

"Oh come on." Cinders pouted. "One more game?"

"Fine." He rolled his eyes. "But next round is on you."

"I'm sure my winnings will more than cover it." She brightened. "Your turn to deal."

Perrault chuckled and began to shuffle the cards, wondering in amazement about this beautiful girl that had dragged him into the life of a vagabond. She had turned his life on its head and in the process, had made him hers. He didn't mind being hers, or having her be his. His beautiful Alessandra, not that he thought he would ever be able to bring himself to call her that. To him, she would always be his Cinders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even though I'm not sure when exactly Cinders is set, I'm going to take an educated guess and say it was after cigarettes, but before we knew they could, indeed, kill us.
> 
> Feedback and constructive criticism is always appreciated! If you haven't guessed yet, these one shots will probably be a fluff-fest. I'm not above angst, but these two...angst would make my heart sad...


	3. Thinking Out Loud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Perrault takes a dagger to the ribs and Cinders patches him up, and the whole experience moves him to say something he's never said before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life, but I wrote this piece and named it after the song "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran, so it might help you get in the right mood to read this if you listen to it, too! ;-)
> 
> P.S. Spot the Monty Python reference. Couldn't help myself.

It happened just as everything in their relationship had, in an almost organic, natural way, with little premeditation. This time, it had been a smuggler giving a cluster of small islands grief with his antics. Cinders and Perrault had taken him down pretty easily, after a brief altercation, but not before he had managed to stick Perrault in the side with a dagger. Luckily, Cinders hit the smuggler over the head and knocked him out before too much damage could be done, but Perrault did have a rather nasty gash in him that, despite all of his protests, Cinders insisted on on looking at right then and there.

"Oh gods." Cinders grimaced as she peeled back the fabric of her lover's shirt. "Well, he definitely got you, that's for sure."

"It's nothing, Cinders, really." Perrault said through clenched teeth, wincing. "Merely a flesh wound. I'll be fine."

Cinders rolled her eyes and tore off a piece of clean cloth from her dress. "Well, flesh wound or not," she said as she wrapped the cloth around his cut. "That thing is still going to need medical attention."

"No." He groaned. "You know how much I hate doctors, Cinders. They always make a mountain out of a molehill. And their hands are always cold."

"In all of my years, I never thought I would meet an otherwise fearless warrior who was afraid of the doctor, of all things!" Cinders sighed as she tied off her makeshift bandage. "Will you at least let me take care of it? Those are your options, by the way, you have to pick one or the other."

"Fine." Perrault sighed. "I will let you do...whatever it is you do. Just please, no doctors. Anything but that."

"Oh, honestly Perrault." She said, exasperated.

"Can we please just take care of this scum, first?" He said. "I won't take no for an answer."

After they had turned in the smuggler to the proper authorities, Cinders guided Perrault to the little ship that they had taken as their own and commanded him to stay in bed while she went and got supplies to tend to his injuries. She returned a short time later with proper bandages, some sort of ointment, and a suspicious looking bottle. Perrault didn't have any time to ask questions, though, because Cinders immediately set to work, removing the scrap of cloth now dirtied with blood, and cleaning the gash in his side with soap and water. To say it stung would be an understatement.

"Ah!" Perrault said, flinching from the pain. "Son of a bitch!"

"Relax." Cinders said calmly. "This is for your own good. If it gets infected, you'll have no choice but to go see a doctor, and by then, it might be too late."

"Such a ray of sunshine." He grunted. "Where did you learn to treat minor injuries, anyway?"

"Past experience." She replied, keeping her eyes on her work, but her voice hinted at sadness. "You really think that I lived that many years under Carmosa's rule without a few "accidents"?"

"Oh." Perrault said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up painful memories."

"Don't worry about it." Cinders said, voice even. "There's still a lot you don't know about, even after all of this time."

"Well, for what it's worth, I'm grateful you're here." He replied. "In more ways than one." Cinders smiled, that same sweet smile that reminded him of summer, and rinsed the wound out one more time. She began to apply the ointment, a thick, greenish looking paste that smelled not unpleasantly minty. It stung, but then, to Perrault's relief, had something of a cooling effect. When there was a thick layer on the cut, Cinders wrapped the bandage around his middle.

"The balm will help prevent infection." She said. "Hopefully it will also speed up recovery. God knows I'll have a hard enough time keeping you in bed for _actual rest_ until it heals."

Perrault chuckled. "You never were one for subtlety." He said. "Were you?"

Cinders shook her head, cleaning her hands off and pouring the brownish liquid from the bottle into a small tin cup. "No, I wasn't." She agreed, handing him the cup. "Here, drink this."

"What is it?" Perrault eyed the cup with suspicion.

She rolled her eyes. "It's poison!" Cinders said with an exasperated sigh. "Or you'd think it was, anyway, the way you're looking at it. It's to help with the pain, now drink up!"

Perrault opened his mouth to protest, but the fire flashing in Cinders' eyes made him think the better of it, so he took a cautious sip. "Ugh!" He exclaimed, a look of disgust on his face so dramatic it was comical. "That tastes like a horse's _ass_!"

"I don't even want to know how you know what a horses ass taste like." Cinders said, not even trying to hold back her laughter. "Just push through it, it's good for you." He braced himself and then downed the rest of the disgusting liquid, shaking his head afterwards, much to Cinders' amusement.

"How much did all of this cost you?" Perrault inquired.

"Does it matter?" Cinders replied. "You needed it."

"I want to know." He said earnestly. "It couldn't have been cheap."

"It wasn't." She agreed. "But, your health is worth far more than a handful of coins."

He smiled. "You are an incredible young woman." Perrault said, brushing a lock of red hair away from her face. "Where would I be without you?"

"Dead in a ditch." Cinders joked, placing a light kiss on his forehead. "Now rest."

Cinders turned away to store the medicine, bandages, and ointment in a small cupboard, and Perrault couldn't tell if it was the liquid, or the way the light reflected off of her skin, making her almost glow, or if it was the way she tended to him with such care, but he couldn't keep himself from opening his mouth.

"Cinders?" He said, sounding somewhat strangled.

"Hm?" She replied, not even looking up.

"I love you."

Cinders froze, her body going straight. They had both known it, had known they felt the same way, but neither had ever said it in plain English. She turned slowly to look at him, eyes wide, blinking back...no, it was a trick of the light. Perrault swallowed hard, worried he had made a mistake. But then there it was, her smile, sweet, happy, assuring him that all was well. He must have still looked worried, because she sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand over his brow, the side of his face, the way she always did when he had that serious, concerned look on his face. Then she leaned and kissed him, as deeply as that first night.

"I love you too." Cinders said quietly.

"You do?" Perrault sounded relieved.

"Yes."

"How long --?"

"Long enough." She kissed him again. "We'll talk about it later. Now, rest."

Perrault nodded, taking one last moment to kiss the knuckles of her hand, which seemed so small in his. She got up and left him, and soon he gave himself over to sleep, feeling more at peace than he had in a very long time. _No turning back now,_ he thought as he drifted off, _everything will be different from now on...._ And it would be, and he would never be happier.


End file.
